José Mourinho, the Chelsea manager, was on course for further unrest between himself and his employers last night after making a barely disguised pitch for the Real Madrid coaching role.

Mourinho, who enlisted Roman Abramovich’s private jet on Sunday evening to watch Valencia, Chelsea’s opponents in the Champions League quarter-finals, used the trip as an opportunity to state that “one day” he would like to take charge at the Bernabéu.

With Real ready to part company with Fabio Capello after their European exit, Mourinho’s declaration could hardly have been more poorly timed with relations already strained between the Portuguese and Abramovich, the Chelsea owner.

“I would really, really like to coach Real Madrid but not next season. I would like to go to Madrid when my work at Chelsea is done,” Mourinho said. “I have a contract with Chelsea until 2010 and I like working in England. One day, though, yes, I would like to go out to Madrid.

“I don’t say no for the future. I say clearly no until 2010 because I have a contract with Chelsea. I want to stay at Chelsea, I am in love with Chelsea, I am in love with English football, but every coach would want to do it. It would be an honour to work in a club like Real Madrid.”

Mourinho is among three front-runners — the others being Rafael BenÍtez, the Liverpool manager, and Bernd Schuster, the Getafe coach — to succeed Capello, whose departure is now a matter of when rather than if.

Only last week the Portuguese said that he could “walk away a millionaire and find another club in a couple of months” if Abramovich was to dismiss him in the summer and the two men have been operating in a cold climate since the start of the year when Mourinho was denied the finance to reinforce an injury-hit squad.

The manager was advised yesterday that he will not face a charge over his “son of a whore” comments to Mike Riley, the referee, made during Chelsea’s 3-3 draw with Totten-ham Hotspur in the FA Cup sixth round on Sunday. Riley did not report the incident.